Soak dal and rice together
for about forty-five minutes. Drain and grind with the colour to a soft, spongy
mixture with a coarse texture. You would need about one cup
of water to grind. The batter should not become too thin. Boil sugar with two and a
half cups of water till a syrup of single-thread consistency is reached. Remove
from heat and strain the syrup. Add saffron, rose essence and
green cardamom powder. Keep the syrup hot. Heat sufficient olive oil in a
shallow flat jalebi kadai (special type of wok). Take one ladle full of batter
in the imarti cloth, hold tightly and press the batter through the hole into
the hot oil. For the traditional design, make a small circle around which make
another circle and over these two make scallops in anti-clockwise direction
ending at the starting point. Make small batches and deep
fry on both the sides till crisp and light golden brown. Drain the hot imarti
and dip into the sugar syrup. Let them remain immersed till
they have absorbed enough syrup. Drain and place the imarti on
a flat plate. Repeat this process till all the batter is used up. Serve hot.